Michelle Mibelle was a 17 year old student at CSUN. Michelle worked fulltime to pay for her room and board as well as for that portion of her tuition that was not covered by her scholarship and student loans. Her mother Ms. Mibelle lived in Arizona where she worked as a server in a coffee shop.

This past week, Michelle was admitted to the Northridge Hospital for treatment for appendicitis. When Michelle arrived at the hospital, she was asked to fill out forms, including a contract stating, "In consideration for medical services rendered, Patient agrees to pay to Northridge Hospital the full cost of her medical treatment." In addition, the contract also provided that if Northridge Hospital were to have to file suit against Michelle to recover the cost of her medical treatment, and the Hospital were to win the lawsuit, the Hospital would be entitled to recover its attorney's fees, but if the patient (Michelle) were to win the lawsuit, she would not be entitled to recover her attorney's fees. This provision was written on the second to last page of the forms presented to Michelle. A nurse reviewed with Michelle the terms of the forms presented to Michelle, but never mentioned the attorney's fees provision.

While Michelle was being admitted to the hospital, the hospital payments administrator called Michelle's mother Ms. Mibelle and asked her to guarantee the payment for Michelle's medical services. Ms. Mibelle refused to do so because she had no money and was in the process of filing for bankruptcy protection. This meant that the Hospital would not be able to collect any money from Ms. Mibelle.

Michelle was hospitalized for three days during which time she had a variety of tests and ultimately surgery to remove her appendix. The hospital bill came to $20,000. The reasonable value of the surgery and the hospital stay was $15,000. Neither Michelle nor Ms. Mibelle paid the bill. The hospital sued Michelle. Is Michelle legally obligated to pay the hospital bill? Please explain your answer